


Wherever You Are

by ObscureReference



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Arguments, Dimension Travel, Eavesdropping, Getting Together, M/M, Magic, Post Revelations, Post-Canon, Pranks and Practical Jokes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-27 15:35:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15688335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObscureReference/pseuds/ObscureReference
Summary: “You are obviously related,” Leo said, his gaze lingering on Lissa before returning to Owain. “And Odin just called you his mother. But if you expect me to believe you could have possibly given birth to a man as old as Odin and still look the way you do without the assistance of magic, you clearly think me much more foolish than I am.”He sounded rather unimpressed at the implication.





	Wherever You Are

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic that got away with me a bit these past few days. Which is a good thing because I liked writing Lissa a lot. Also because this was a request for the lovely Kimium, who got me some very nice things from a convention and I wanted to give her something in exchange. I hope you like it! You're the best!
> 
> Also, I'm going to be studying abroad in the near future, so my fic writing might be a bit slow for the next month or so as I'm getting caught up with studying and travel and everything else that goes into that. I'll still be active over on my tumblr though! The link is at the bottom of this fic! Also, this is a long fic, so feel free to point out any mistakes you see! Thanks in advance for reading!

Lissa’s heart thudded in her chest, her whole body tense. Her feet felt glued to the ground.

“Of course not!” said a voice. A voice that was a little deeper than Lissa remembered, but one she recognized all the same. “I would not leave in the dead of night like some villain!”

“But you don’t deny that you were thinking about leaving,” another voice said. This voice was unfamiliar, and Lissa didn’t care. She only had ears for her son.

After a beat, Owain said, “Maybe.”

“There’s no ‘maybe,’ Odin. You either have or you haven’t.”

“It’s more complicated than—” Owain stopped speaking for a moment. Lissa couldn’t see why. After a beat, he said, “Yes. I’ve been thinking.”

“That’s fine,” the other voice said coolly.

Lissa didn’t think it really was fine, whatever they were talking about, but that was a distant thought.

“Milord—” Owain hesitated. Lissa wanted to see him, to _move_ , but her mind couldn’t connect to her legs. She felt a bit lightheaded. “Leo, I know you’re upset. I’m—”

“I’m not upset,” Leo said, sounding detached. “We discussed this in the past, and I told you that you that you are your own person. You’re allowed to do as you wish. I’m simply… thinking.”

“This wasn’t—I didn’t mean to bring this up right now.”

There was a beat of silence. Owain did not say anything more, and neither did the man he was talking to.

The silence was what shocked Lissa into moving.

It had taken hours that dragged and dragged, but here he was. She’d _found_ him. And Lissa was not going to stand behind a shop corner any longer and lose her son again just because her dumb body was too surprised to kick into gear.

Lissa darted around the corner, dodging strangers in their dark cloaks and downcast eyes. She squeezed past them all, looking around wildly for Owain. She almost missed him at first, given the fact his hair was her shade of blond now and he wore strangely revealing mage’s garb instead of the thick jacket and boots she had last seen him in. But once she looked passed all that, she realized Owain was still recognizably himself. He was her son.

Her son, who was having some kind of staring contest with another blond man in very nice clothes—Leo, she thought his name was—who had called Owain by another name. But when Lissa called out to him, Owain turned his head all the same.

His jaw dropped at the sight of her barreling towards him.

“ _Mother?_ ” Owain yelped.

That caught Leo’s attention as well. He turned his head with a furrowed brow, but all Lissa had eyes for was _Owain, Owain, Owain._

He hadn’t grown very much since the last time she’d seen him— _five years ago_ , she thought with some disbelief—but she was somehow still surprised by how solid he felt when her face slammed into his shoulder. Lissa squeezed him tight.

Owain grunted, “Ugh, you’re choking me!”

Lissa ignored his complaints and hugged him tighter. After a moment, Owain hugged her back. People continued to circle past them in the market, but Lissa ignored them all.

Eventually they did have to pull apart, though Owain kept his hands on her shoulders like he was afraid that _she_ was the one who was going to run off on her own.

“M—” Owain cut himself off with a glance to the side. “What are you doing here?”

“What do you think?” Lissa said incredulously. “I’ve been looking for you!”

“But _how_?”

The other guy— _Leo_ , Lissa reminded herself—cleared his throat. The sound made Owain jump back, dropping his hands like Lissa had somehow scalded him.

Lissa frowned.

Leo, wearing a puzzled expression, said, “I see that you two have a lot to catch up on, whoever you may be.”

Lissa blinked. “I’m his—”

She stopped herself before she could say “mother.” They were outside of Ylisse, outside of the trustworthy few who knew and believed in time travel. If this man were a friend of Owain’s, then he could probably be trusted. But should Lissa say something anyway? Would he believe it?

The answer was revealed to be a very clear no.

“You are obviously related,” Leo said, his gaze lingering on Lissa before returning to Owain. “And Odin just called you his mother. But if you expect me to believe you could have possibly given birth to a man as old as Odin and still look the way you do without the assistance of magic, you clearly think me much more foolish than I am.”

He sounded rather unimpressed at the implication.

Lissa pouted, her hands on her hips. “Hey! I know how it looks, but I really am his mother! It’s just… a little hard to explain.”

She glanced over to Owain. Lissa might have been eager, but she wasn’t dumb. She just didn’t know how much Owain was comfortable revealing.

Leo sighed. “It always is when it comes to Odin.”

He shifted uncomfortably, and Lissa was finally reminded that she had interrupted a tense conversation in her excitement. Oops.

“My lord,” Owain started, but then he didn’t finish. Lissa’s ears perked up.

“I’ll let you two sort this out among yourselves,” Leo said. “Odin, I’m sure I’ll hear about this later. I’ll see you at the castle.”

Lissa blinked. There was that name again. “Od—”

Owain slapped a hand over her mouth, beaming falsely.

“Not even!” he exclaimed. “Please wait here, Lord Leo! We will be back faster than your swiftest horse!”

“Quite,” Leo said.

He eyed her again. Lissa tugged at Owain’s fingers covering her mouth.

“We’ll be back in a few minutes!” Owain called out, pulling Lissa away.

Before they disappeared into the crowd, she heard Leo sigh.

 

 

 

At the edges of the market, where the people thinned and stalls gave way to trees, Lissa finally got tired of trotting after Owain and said, “So do you want to tell me where we even are? And what was up with that conversation back there?”

“What?” Owain’s head whipped around. “You mean you don’t even know where you are?”

He sounded incredulous. Lissa crossed her arms.

“It’s not like I could help it!” she protested. “We didn’t know where I’d _go_. We just knew it’d take me to you.”

That was the only thing that had mattered, after all. And Lissa would have insisted on that fact even if it taken her weeks or years instead of hours to find Owain.

Owain pinched the bridge of his nose. “Maybe it’d be better if you started from the beginning.”

So Lissa did.

 

 

 

“Henry,” Lissa said firmly. “He is our _son_.”

If this were a good story, Lissa would have Owain’s last letter clutched in her hand to remember him by. An old jacket. A lock of hair. Something.

But that was the crux of the issue. Lissa had nothing.

_I’ll be back in two months_ , Owain had said. One month to get there and one to come back. _I’ll send a letter if I end up being delayed._

_You’d better!_ Lissa had chided him.

She’d been so sulky about Owain leaving so suddenly— _without a farewell party or_ _anything_ , she’d complained—but in hindsight she thought she should have been sadder. Or had tagged along with him. Or had told Owain not go off on quests where she couldn’t follow. Any of those things.

_Of course I will!_ Owain had said, sounding hurt. _What kind of son lets his mother fret needlessly?_

And now here they were. Two months that had turned into three. Three months that had turned into four, five, _six_ , and still no letter or Owain.

Severa and Inigo had gone along with him, Lissa knew. And from the sorry looks Cordelia wore when she thought no one else was looking and from the shaky penmanship in the letters Olivia sent back, Lissa knew neither of them had heard from their children in a long time either.

“I just…” Lissa sniffed, feeling her face get hot and wishing she had the composure Emmeryn had always had. “I need to _know_.”

And Henry, Naga bless him, nodded. He wasn’t smiling, but that was okay because Lissa couldn’t muster one up either.

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

“Don’t worry,” he told her. “There are spells to locate people. We’ll figure it out.”

None of the spells or curses Henry had tried before had worked. The tightness in Henry’s voice said he knew that just as well as she did but wasn’t going to let something as silly as limitations stop him.

Henry was a good father. Lissa knew how other soldiers whispered sometimes about her husband—about his dark magic, about his carelessness around death, about the crows. And they were right, because he _was_ strange.

But Henry was her husband, and he was a _good_ father. Those strangers didn’t know Henry. _Lissa_ knew Henry.

So when Henry said “I’ll talk to Robin,” even though Robin’s return had just been a recent miracle itself, Lissa trusted him.

“I’d know if he was gone,” she said firmly. She tried to convince herself that she would. She’d _know_.

“Of course,” Henry said easily. “We’ll figure it out.”

Lissa hadn’t had the words for anything more, so she’d pressed her face against Henry’s wet shoulder and wished.

 

 

 

True to his word, Henry did figure it out.

It had taken five years, but he had.

_“Lissa,”_ Henry whispered, shaking her awake some time in the dead of night.

Lissa blearily lifted her head from the pillow. Henry had been with her when she’d gone to bed, but now he stood over her side of the mattress fully dressed, his brow furrowed.

“Henry?” Lissa slurred. “Is this a joke?”

There was no light, so Henrys eyes didn’t shine in the darkness, but Lissa thought they should have.

“No,” Henry said. “I figured it out. Come with me.”

It was the middle of the night, and the moon was high in the sky. Some might have said nothing good happened at an hour such as this.

But Henry was a good father and a good husband, so Lissa trusted him.

She threw on a coat over her sleeping clothes and followed after him.

 

 

 

When Henry finished explaining it all, Lissa looked at the summoning circle spread out across the floor and said, “You can’t come with me?”

“Nope!” Henry said, sounding completely unbothered. Lissa didn’t think he was being entirely honest. She was proven right when Henry continued, “Even though I’d really like to, it’s like I said! I need to stay here to make sure I can bring you back when it’s time.”

“And I do it with this?” Lissa held up the necklace Henry had given her. The small lavender crystal wrapped around the necklace cord felt smooth despite its sharpened edges.

“Yep!” Henry chirped.

He looked tired, she thought. Lissa felt tired too.

The summoning circle was complicated, and almost the entirety of the symbols Henry had etched into the floor went over Lissa’s head. The smear of blood in the center of the circle was familiar, if nothing else. Despite Lissa’s insistence, Henry hadn’t allowed her to heal his poorly bandaged hand.

Lissa understood healing magic; she definitely didn’t understand the type of magic her husband used.

But she didn’t need to understand to trust in it.

“Owain has my blood and your blood,” Henry said again. “So when I activate this circle, you should end up in the general area he’s also in! Wherever that is.”

“Wherever that is,” Lissa echoed.

She mentally ran through Henry’s explanation again. With the help of Henry’s magic, Lissa would be transported to wherever Owain was. Henry had to act as an anchor to transport her and Owain back, so he had to stay in Ylisstol. When she found Owain, Lissa would be able to send a burst of her own magical energy through the crystal Henry had given her, and Henry, feeling the magical vibrations in Ylisse, would be able to activate the circle again.

It seemed sound in theory, even if the finer details went over Lissa’s head. Lissa knew there was probably a lot more to it than the basics. But she was trusting Henry to handle that part.

“Okay,” Lissa said after a beat. “Okay.”

It was a good thing it was the middle of the night, she thought, because Chrom and Robin would probably blow a gasket if they knew what she was about to do.

It took ten minutes for Lissa to get properly dressed, and when she returned, Henry’s smile had grown to encompass his whole face. He kissed her forehead before ushering her toward the center of the magic circle.

“Henry,” Lissa said again, suddenly feeling uncertain. She trusted her husband and she wanted to see her son, of course, but she just had to be sure. “This is safe, right?”

“Of course!” Henry said. “It’s completely safe for you!”

“For _me_? What about y—”

“Get ready!” Henry said loudly, and then Lissa’s whole world turned white.

 

 

 

Lissa told Owain all of this, more or less. She left out the last little bit involving Henry’s comments about the spell. Owain didn’t have to worry about his father at the moment. In that same vein, Lissa preferred not to worry about Henry when she wasn’t around to do anything for him, though she couldn’t help the little part of her brain that was still alight with worry.

And if she laid on missing Owain a little thickly, then there was no one around to call her out about it. It wasn’t like she was _exaggerating_ her worry at all. She just maybe wanted Owain to feel a _little_ guilty about being gone for so long without a single word letting her know he was all right.

Despite that, Lissa was the one who felt a bit guilty by the end, however. Owain deflated more and more before she was through recounting how tirelessly Henry had worked on and off to make the magic work. At the end of her long-winded retelling of the past five years, the guilt over Owain’s disheartened expression made Lissa hug him again. She made sure to finish her story with, “I’m just glad you’re okay, sweetie.”

Owain hugged her back. He didn’t hesitate this time.

“Yeah,” Owain said, his voice thick. “Me too.”

Lissa pulled away.

“What about you?” she asked. “What have you been doing for the past five years? Who was that man you were speaking to in the market?” And, most importantly, the question that had been nagging her since she’d found Owain again: “Did you dye your hair?”

Lissa reached out and tugged on a fistful of Owain’s locks. Nope, she thought, it wasn’t a wig. His new shade of blond still looked familiar though.

“Aw, did you want to look more like me?”

“Ack! M-Mother!”

Owain jerked his head back out of her grasp, rubbing at his sore scalp. Lissa smiled sheepishly.

“I didn’t dye my hair!” Owain protested. “It’s magic! And all part of my ingenious disguise!”

Owain struck a pose, obscuring his face behind his hand like he’d always used to do.

Lissa wrinkled her nose. That explained was why Owain wore mage clothes instead of his signature swordsman outfit, she supposed. She didn’t necessarily mind that he looked a little more like her now, but Owain hadn’t looked so bad with his father’s hair either.

“Disguise?” she repeated. “What’re you wearing a disguise for?”

“Because—”

Owain glanced around furtively. When he saw they were still alone, he lowered his voice so much that Lissa leaned in to hear.

“It’s a secret mission,” he whispered, “only very recently accomplished. It began, as you know, with the mysterious stranger who summoned myself and two others that fateful day—"

“You finished it?” Lissa interrupted. “Whatever you were trying to do?”

“Ah—” Owain blinked. He recovered quickly. “Yes! It’s a very daring tale! I have been penning a recounting of our travels all this time. I’ve only filled three journals so far, so obviously it’s not finished, but I would be delighted for you to read it, Mother!”

_Only_ three journals. That was so Owain, she thought. They were probably thick as a novel too.

While Lissa did want to know what her son had been doing all this time—rather desperately, in fact—she was already thinking of several different ways she could get Owain to tell her a shortened abridged version first.

“Of course,” Lissa said mildly. “But more importantly, if you’re finished with your mission, then that means you can come home now, right?”

That was the part Lissa had focused on the most out of his explanation. The prospect delighted her. Lissa had found Owain much sooner than expected, and if there was nothing that needed to be tied up here before they left—wherever “here” was—then Henry could whisk them away at any time.

But for some reason when Lissa asked, Owain didn’t beam as much as Lissa thought he should have.

“Yeah,” Owain said carefully. “I could.”

Lissa wasn’t sure if she imagined the slight hesitation before he spoke or not. Before she could call him out, however, Owain continued.

“But before any of that,” he said, “let me introduce you to Lord Leo!”

“ _Lord_ Leo?” Lissa said. “You mean the guy from the market?”

“Yeah!” Owain suddenly looked a bit cheerier. “I’ve been working for him for more or less the past five years. The name Odin Dark is legendary! Revered far and wide as one of Prince Leo’s famous retainers!”

Lissa took a moment to process this. Her wildcard son—who was essentially a prince himself, even if he was in the wrong timeline to still technically be in the running for the throne—was strongly implying he was the Frederick to a foreign prince’s Chrom.

She let the implications of that rattle around her mind for a minute before she latched on to the next most easily graspable thing she could.

“Odin Dark?” she repeated. “Wait, is that like your new stage name or something? Like when you called yourself _Owain_ Dark?”

“Shh!” Owain hissed, looking around frantically again. She didn’t know who he expected to see. They really were alone. “Mother, please do not use that name within these borders! It really is essential that my secret identity remain just that!” After a moment of thought, he added, “Plus, Sel–uh, Severa would probably kill me if she heard.”

“Severa!” Lissa said loudly, prompting another round of shushing from Owain. She ignored him. “Severa and Inigo! Are they here? Oh, Cordelia and Olivia have been—”

“ _Yes_ ,” Owain hastily cut in, probably afraid she was going to say several more incriminating things before she was through. “They’re here. Well, not _here_. They’re on a mission at the moment. But they’re technically in Nohr. They’ll be back later today, probably.”

Nohr. Lissa made note of the name.

She made note of Inigo and Severa too. If Lissa could bring them back with her and Owain, then that would be all the better. Just like herself and Henry, Lissa knew their parents had all but gone sick with grief and worry.

Lissa said, “We can wait for them then. Tell me more about this Leo guy you were talking about.”

“ _Prince_ Leo,” Owain gently corrected. “And I can do better! I can introduce you to him!”

That was right. Owain had told Prince Leo to wait somewhere for their return, hadn’t he?

“I’d love to meet him,” Lissa said earnestly. She definitely wanted to get a feel for the man her son had supposedly been working for the past few years.

Then a horrible thought struck her. “Wait! Please tell me you haven’t been talking that weird way you like to do with a _prince_.”

She hadn’t heard Owain say anything _too_ strange in the past few minutes, but Owain probably knew Lissa would just scold him into speaking normally if he tried that malarkey with her, so that didn’t account for much. Owain wasn’t even allowed to talk strangely when speaking to _Lucina_ , his cousin. If Lissa had been around, there was no way she would have ever allowed Owain to talk that way to a foreign prince _or_ his boss. Especially not a guy who was both.

But Owain called himself _Odin Dark_ here, which was one of the silliest names Lissa had ever heard. With a sinking feeling in her gut, she wasn’t putting much stock in Owain’s reputation being that different around here than it had been in Ylisse. And from Owain’s sudden refusal to look her in the eyes, Lissa was sure he knew it too.

_Oh, well_ , she thought. At least she’d found him.

“Okay,” Lissa sighed. “There’s nothing we can do about that now, so let’s just move on with it.”

Like a lever had been flipped, Owain straightened up.

“Of course!” he said. “We mustn’t let Lord Leo tarry for long!”

Owain looked off towards the edges of the market where Leo waited, then back towards Lissa, a worried frown on his face. “But please, Mother. Don’t speak a word of us being from another world. If word got around that we were from a Halidom that didn’t exist in this world, there would be a lot of questions.”

Lissa stared at him openly.

Owain waited.

_“What?”_ Lissa shouted, eyes wide. “We’re in another world?”

At the very least, that did explain why the name “Nohr” sounded so unfamiliar to her. And why Owain couldn’t have just sent her a letter all this time. She suddenly felt a little more abashed about trying to make Owain feel guilty about it.

But _another world_! How had Henry’s magic been so powerful? Or was it more about the bond between them as family?

Oh, wow, Lissa’s head was spinning.

“Mother,” Owain said, looking antsy. “Lord Leo—”

“Can wait just another moment,” Lissa said. “You have a lot of explaining to do, young man.”

Owain grimaced.

 

 

 

Owain ended up giving her the severely condensed and abridged version of how he, Severa, and Inigo had ended up in Nohr. He skipped over some things entirely, Lissa could tell, but the longer he explained, the more fidgety Lissa could see he was getting. Around the twentieth time she caught Owain glance back at the market, Lissa finally stopped asking questions and told him that he could explain it in more detail later. Owain looked grateful when she said as such.

She probably didn’t need to know _all_ the details right off the bat anyway. If all Lissa had to do was not say where she was from, then that was a simple enough goal to accomplish.

Besides, Lissa wanted to meet the man who had been looking after her son and vice versa as much as Owain wanted to get back to him.

 

 

 

“Remember,” Owain said, stopping a few yards away from Lord Leo, who watched them curiously. “Don’t say anything too incriminating. And wait here a moment, if you would. I should… explain some things first.”

Which was how Lissa ended up waiting just within hearing range of Owain and Lord Leo as they spoke, straining to listen to their conversation as she pretended not to listen to them. She idly kicked at the grass.

“Mother?” Leo said, his voice fading in and out. “She… so young...”

Lissa felt his eyes on her. She bent over and picked something out of the grass, sliding it up her sleeve and purposely not looking back. Then she stole another glance in their direction.

Prince Leo, as Owain called him, looked well-kept enough. His clothes were nice enough that Lissa was willing to believe he really was a prince. His hair looked pretty smooth, and though she couldn’t see him up close and personal yet, Lissa was certain the rest of Leo looked just as nice too.

It was hard to tell what kind of boss Leo would be from appearance alone. Lissa thought he looked pleasant enough. She hoped that meant he was a good one.

Owain’s voice was just as difficult to hear. “I know, but…”

“…expect me to believe?”

Owain visibly winced. “…upset with me, but…”

Leo sighed loudly. Lissa couldn’t pretend to ignore them anymore, nor did she want like to watch Owain flounder any longer than necessary. She skipped right over and held out her hand for Leo to shake.

“It’s nice to meet you!” Lissa chirped, putting on her best mask of modesty. “I’m Lissa, and you must be Prince Leo! I’ve heard such nice things about you!”

Leo looked caught off guard for a moment. “Ah. You have?” He sent Owain a hard to read look. “I haven’t heard much about you, I’m sorry to say.”

That stung a bit, but Lissa didn’t think he was being so pointed towards _her_ , per say. Apparently Owain had been keeping a lot of secrets as of late. Which Lissa would definitely have to ask more about later, in private.

Leo looked at Owain for a long moment before he seemed to remember Lissa was still there.

“Ah, my apologies,” Leo said, reaching out to take her hand. “I’m sorry, this must seem like a strange question, but are you really— _Ah!_ "

Leo jerked back as the frog hidden up Lissa’s sleeve jumped onto his hand. The look on his face was absolutely _priceless_. Lissa couldn’t help but snort and grab her stomach as she laughed.

Leo scrubbed his hands on his pants and watched in surprise as the frog jumped harmlessly from Lissa’s hand into the grass.

“What the—Is that a frog?”

“Haha, obviously!” Lissa laughed. “You should have seen the look on your face!”

“Wha—” Leo huffed, crossing his arms. He glared at Owain. “Is this your idea of a practical joke?”

Owain looked like he wanted to dig himself a very deep hole and crawl in.

“No!” Owain objected. “Lord Leo, I apologize for my mother’s behavior, but this is no joke! She does enjoy harmless jests, but—”

“Aw, don’t be sour,” Lissa persuaded. “It was my idea. You looked like you needed to lighten up a little. Jokes are always good for the mood. Don’t you feel relaxed now?”

“No,” Leo said flatly.

Lissa pouted. Owain put his head in his hands.

Leo pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. He said, “Please. Can I get at least one straight answer?”

“Ask away,” Lissa said before Owain could speak.

Owain deflated. Leo nodded.

“Are you really Odin’s mother?”

“Yes,” Lissa said promptly.

Leo still stared at her skeptically.

“No offense,” he said. “But you look rather young for that.”

Lissa opened her mouth to protest, to say that even though her and Owain’s time didn’t _quite_ align, they weren’t any less of a family. But then she caught herself, remembering what Owain had said about keeping a low profile and not saying anything that would give them away as not being from around here.

Over Leo’s shoulder, Owain sent her a frantic look.

Leo looked expectant.

Lissa closed her mouth, mentally scrambling. She tossed her hair over her shoulder the way she’d seen Maribelle do more than once. “It’s not my fault that I have a very youthful face. It’s a family trait.”

“I see,” Leo said slowly.

Then he straightened, looking like he’d been struck by a thought. “Wait. Was Odin raised in the Deeprealms?”

“Uh,” Owain said as Lissa echoed, “Deeprealms?”

Leo looked at them, unimpressed.

“Right,” he said dryly. “What was I thinking?”

“My lord,” said Owain quickly, stepping between them. “Would it be alright if my mother spent the night at the castle? She can sleep in my room, if need be. It’s just…”

“Peace, Odin,” Leo said with another, softer, sigh. “You two are clearly related, even if I’m not entirely certain how, and any family of yours is a friend of mine. Of course she can stay. And more than just the night if need be.”

Leo looked… tired, Lissa decided. Like he could use a long nap. Or maybe a frog down his collar to wake him up. But he was being nice about letting her stay even though he was clearly exasperated with both of them, so Lissa figured he was a pretty good guy after all.

“Alright then,” Owain said, a tad forcefully. He gestured to the castle in the distance. “What about heading back there now then? We finished with the errands, didn’t we, Lord Leo?”

“I suppose we have,” Leo drawled. He didn’t sound very eager to go home. Granted, he hadn’t seemed very enthusiastic about anything this afternoon.

Dimly, Lissa remembered that he and Owain had been having a fight about something right before she’d showed up. About Owain leaving? That was what it had seemed like. But Leo had said Owain was free to do what he wanted, so…

“Off we go then!” Owain said, spinning on his heel. “Lord Leo and I can just—”

“Nope,” Lissa said quickly, hooking her elbow with Leo’s. She wasn’t going to miss an opportunity like this. “The prince and I have some discussing to do. You can lead the way.”

Leo looked startled at having been grabbed, but after some moderate tugging, he seemed resigned to be caught in her clutches. “I’m starting to see the resemblance between you and Odin already.”

Lissa pretended not to hear him.

“Ah, Mother,” Owain began doubtfully.

Lissa waved him on. “Nope! Get marching, mister! Shoo!”

Owain looked very hesitant at letting Lissa and Leo stick together, clearly worried Lissa was going to spill the beans on something important. Lissa rolled her eyes.

To her surprise, Leo said, “It’s fine, Odin. You can lead the way.”

He sounded rather exasperated, but it got the job done nonetheless. Owain still looked unsure, but he began the trek up to the castle. He kept looking over his shoulder to make sure they were keeping up, but Lissa made sure to hang back until Owain was just out of hearing range.

When they were, Leo looked at her and asked, “Would you mind letting me go now?”

Lissa did, smiling a bit cheekily. Leo huffed, but he didn’t sound as put-out as he had before. Good, Lissa thought.

They started walking.

Leo said, “You, Niles, and Odin all seem to like getting in my personal space.” He glanced at her. “Which is no surprise if you’re related to Odin.”

Lissa cocked her head. “Who’s Niles?”

“My other retainer,” Leo said matter-of-factly. “Though he’s out on a mission at the moment, so I’m not sure you’ll meet him.” He paused, frowning. “Which may be for the better, actually. Didn’t Odin tell you about him?”

Now it was Lissa’s turn to sigh. She glanced over at Owain’s back, but he wasn’t stealing unsubtle glances anymore.

“Not so much,” Lissa admitted. She figured she could stick with mostly the truth this time around.

Sure, Owain had told her not to say _too_ much, but a little exchange of information wasn’t so bad, was it? And wasn’t Leo supposed to be trustworthy if he and Owain had known each other for so long? She doubted the “fake it ‘til you make it” approach would work here when Lissa had no information about Niles or anybody else Leo would probably mention. She wasn’t much of a spy anyway.

So Lissa said, “To tell you the truth, this is the first time I’ve seen Ow—Odin in five years.”

“What?” Leo blurted. He didn’t seem to notice her slipup, which was nice. “ _Five_ years? That’s—” He looked towards Owain, then back to Lissa. “That’s as long as Odin’s been in Nohr, to my knowledge.”

“Yeah,” Lissa said, nodding along. “Truthfully, Odin left some time ago and…”

And what? Lissa couldn’t exactly say “my son was transported to Nohr by a dragon,” could she? _Lissa_ could barely wrap her mind around that part just yet.

So she shrugged, deciding to take another route. “Well, he had something important to do. But we live so far from here that I’m not sure any letters he sent could have reached me, even if he had sent any. And I got worried when I didn’t hear from him, obviously. So here I am now.”

“But _five_ years,” Leo said, still sounding awed. “You must have gotten worried after just _one_. Do you really live that far?”

Lissa wondered if he was thinking of somebody. Family of his own, perhaps.

“Oh, I almost went out of my mind in the first four months,” Lissa said plainly. It was the truth, after all. “I gave him the benefit of the doubt at first, and then I was hoping the first message had just failed to reach me after that. But then more and more time passed…”

“And then you decided to look yourself,” Leo finished. Curiously, he asked, “But did you even know where Odin had gone?”

Lissa shook her head.

“So you must have been looking for a long time then.”

It wasn’t a question. Lissa thought about it anyway.

Five years, and she’d never left Ylisse to look for Owain. Maybe, to some people, that didn’t count as “looking.” Lissa hadn’t known where to start. But that didn’t mean she hadn’t _looked_. There were dozens upon dozens of books in the library and hundreds of travelers Lissa had interrogated in search of some way to find her son.

And ultimately it had worked. Lissa doubted she could have traveled to Nohr just by wandering aimlessly outside Ylisstol anyway.

“Yeah,” Lissa said at last. “A long time.”

Leo looked at her in amazement. She smiled back at him happily.

It was strange to discuss the past five years with someone who clearly had no idea what had happened, but with Owain right there and no longer lost, talking about it wasn’t as painful as it otherwise might have been.

And it was all right now anyway. It had all worked out in the end.

“Odin has been an exemplary retainer these past years,” Leo suddenly blurted. Lissa blinked, coming back to reality.

Leo said, “And he’s been an even more exemplary friend. I don’t know how we could have won the war without him. Or even how I could have accomplished some personal roadblocks in my own life without him. And I… I would feel rather remiss if I did not tell you that he had been working for a good cause all this time, though I know that does not make up for how much you must have missed him.”

Lissa continued to stare.

Leo’s praise sank in after a moment.

“Really?” Lissa breathed.

“Of _course_ ,” Leo said.

He looked almost offended in his sincerity. Lissa nearly giggled. Leo’s voice was so loud that Owain looked over his shoulder again, and Leo cleared his throat and quieted before continuing.

“I mean, yes,” Leo amended. He looked as though he had decided on something. “And... if I’m being entirely honest, I did not truly appreciate Odin upon his arrival. I didn’t ask for a new retainer, and he was difficult to understand on top of that.”

Lissa hummed. “That sounds about right.”

Unexpectedly, Leo laughed at that. Finally, Lissa thought, he seemed to have loosened up.

“I must admit I treated Odin unfairly because of that,” Leo said, which made Lissa frown. She stole another glance at Owain’s back. He and Leo seemed fine now, at the very least. Leo continued, “But I was quickly proven wrong in my judgement of him. Odin continued to accomplish the impossible. He had me in awe.”

Lissa softened.

“Yeah,” she said. “That sounds like him too.”

Leo nodded.

“I valued him more after that,” he said. “And I begin to discover who Odin was as a person. There’s no one else I would have rather had by my side these past few years, and I—”

He swallowed his words, though Lissa was internally writhing in anticipation to hear what Leo might have said. Leo looked up at the castle, which loomed closer with every step.

When it became obvious Leo wasn’t going to say any more, Lissa looked up too.

It looked like a rather dark and gloomy place, she thought. The architecture looked nothing like any buildings Lissa was used to in Ylisse. Even the crowded markets hadn’t felt like the bright streets of Ylisstol. But apparently this was Leo’s home. And had been Owain’s for the past five years as well.

“Well.” Leo cleared his throat, drawing Lissa’s attention again. “I’m grateful to have him here, is what I’m trying to say.”

“Aww,” Lissa cooed. She had enough self-restraint _not_ to reach out and pinch Leo’s cheek, but it was a near thing.

Lissa’s emotions had been all over the place after the wild ride of a morning she’d had, and seeing Owain after five years had unleashed the flurry of motherly feelings that had remained dormant inside her the past few years. Still, she held herself back.

With a soft voice, Lissa said, “Thank you, Prince Leo. I know you’re trying to reassure me about what my son has been up to all this time. I appreciate that he’s had someone like you looking out for him.”

Leo smiled gently at her.

“Well, if he really is your son—or your family at all, for that matter—you deserve to know. Family is the most important thing.”

Lissa thought of Chrom and Emmeryn and Henry and Robin. Most of all she thought of Owain, who was still so close and so far away. She wanted to grab him and talk, but they couldn’t. Not yet.

“It really is,” she agreed. She smiled back at him. “Thank you.”

“Behold, Mother!” Owain suddenly called out, turning around so he could walk backwards and talk at the same time. He raised his arms so he could poorly frame the castle between his hands. “Welcome to Castle Krakenburg!”

Lissa took another look at the castle. Its dreary walls and somber aura had yet to change. She was mildly surprised when she didn’t spot any gargoyles leering at her from the towers.

She shuddered, sticking out her tongue.

“What an awful name,” Lissa commented.

Owain squawked like she had committed a personal foul. He glanced fretfully at Leo. “Mother!”

To Lissa’s delight, she heard Leo laugh. She turned her head and saw that she wasn’t mistaken. Leo—who she had initially assumed to be just as uptight until his thoughtfulness a moment before proved her wrong—was laughing.

Owain stared at him, starstruck.

Lissa paused. An undefinable thought began to form in the back of her mind.

 

 

 

“I don’t know if it’s good luck or bad luck that my siblings are in Valla visiting Corrin at the moment and I was the one left to hold down the fort,” Leo said after he rejoined them in the front hall. “I’m afraid you won’t be meeting them unless you stay for a while, at least.”

“Which you are entirely welcome to do,” Leo went on to assure her. “I’ve asked some of the servants to make up a room for you, though it may take a while. You’re free to wander the grounds until then. Odin or I could show you around in the meantime.”

“Oh, no, don’t worry about that,” Lissa said. “I can find my way around here just fine.”

Leo’s eyebrows rose skeptically. “Really?”

“Well, no,” Lissa admitted. “But I interrupted you two earlier while you were having a talk! Besides, I showed up unannounced and everything. So go! Shoo! Carry on like I’m not even here!”

Both Leo and Owain gave her strange looks at that.

“Ah, Mother,” Owain said gently. “I’m sure that Lord Leo has other things that require his attention at the moment.”

Leo nodded in agreement. “And I would hate to keep you two away from each other when you’ve only just arrived.”

Lissa waved them both off.

“I’ve lived in a castle all my life,” she said. “I’m sure I can find my way around this one with no problem.”

Somehow, Leo’s eyebrows rose even higher. “You’ve lived in a castle all your life? But, you don’t act like… Hm.”

He peered at Lissa seriously, inspecting her clothes. His frown deepened.

“Forgive me if the answer should be obvious, but are you—”

“Lord Leo!” Owain jumped in. “My mother is right! We definitely should finish that conversation from earlier!”

Leo’s mouth twisted downward in annoyance. “Odin—”

Owain grabbed his arm in a way Lissa was pretty sure you were _not_ supposed to handle royalty and practically dragged Leo down the hallway. Leo protested but couldn’t break free. Lissa didn’t think he was fighting very hard.

Over his shoulder, Owain hastily said, “Goodbye, Mother! We’ll return soon!”

“Odin!” Leo said loudly. “Don’t interrupt me like that! Let me go this instance!”

Lissa waved them farewell with a smile.

Then, as soon as they were sufficiently out of sight, Lissa followed the sounds of Leo’s protests and crept down the hallway after them.

It wasn’t very difficult to follow them, even after Leo eventually stopped protesting so loudly. Lissa hadn’t been lying before; without help, she really didn’t know how she was going to find her way around Castle Krakenburg. Even while she was trailing after Leo and Owain, Lissa got turned around a time or two and had to quickly retrace her steps so she didn’t lose them entirely.

She managed to follow Leo and Owain the entire way, though the fact she’d turned the wrong way more than once meant she had fallen some ways behind. Lissa nearly missed the doorway entirely before she heard Owain and Leo’s voices floating through from the other side, clearly in the middle of a conversation Lissa had missed the start of.

The hallways Lissa had wandered through looked entirely the same, so it was anyone’s guess whether she was standing outside a bedroom, a study, a library, or even the kitchen. Although she didn’t really mind either way. So long as Lissa got to listen in a little, they could have been anywhere.

Carefully, Lissa pressed her ear to the door. It was wrong to listen in on a private conversation, she knew. Especially one that she had orchestrated herself. She could already imagine the field day Chrom and Frederick would have with her if they knew she was eavesdropping on her own son.

But a couple different things had been nagging at her this afternoon. The hesitation on Owain’s face when she had suggested going home together, for instance. The conversation she had interrupted earlier, for another. Owain and Leo had sounded tense with one another about the prospect of Owain leaving—which Owain had been considering on his own, apparently. And now that she knew Leo and Owain cared about each other, she wondered how their conversation in the market would have gone if she hadn’t interrupted. She wondered what Leo had been going to say before he cut himself off earlier as well.

_Maybe_ it would have been better if she had taken a tour with Owain to steal a moment alone with him instead. Almost definitely better, Chrom probably would have said. Certainly more morally sound.

Call it a mother’s intuition, however, but Lissa had felt it was better for Owain and Leo to work out… whatever it was between themselves first before she went asking questions.

Also, this way Lissa got a little fun out of it too. She hadn’t done any sneaking around like this since her brief stint as a scout in the army before Chrom had found out and given her a good scolding.

Which, okay, was still _wrong_. But Lissa thought she deserved to be a little nosy after five years kept in the dark.

Besides, she’d back away if things got a little too personal.

Or so she told herself.

She couldn’t see what they were doing on the other side of the door, obviously. All Lissa could do was listen in.

“I told you before,” Leo said. They were clearly in the middle of a conversation already. “I’d much prefer you stay here forever.”

_“Leo,”_ Owain breathed.

Lissa pressed her hand to her now open mouth. She’d never heard Owain sound like that before.

“If you’re waiting for me to tell you that Nohr would welcome you with open arms if you were to return, then this is me telling you as such,” Leo said. “But I will not tell you to go. If that makes me selfish and inconsiderate of your position, then I’m sorry. I’d rather you didn’t leave. But I also won’t keep you here, Odin. Not if you don’t want to be.”

For a moment neither of them said anything. From how uncomfortable Leo and Owain had sounded in from the few seconds Lissa had been listening in already, she knew their conversation had probably already crept into “do not listen” territory. But Lissa couldn’t back away, and she couldn’t help but strain her ears for any more whispers she might have missed. What were they doing, she wondered. How were they looking at each other?

What was Owain going to say?

For reasons she was only partly aware of, Lissa’s heart ached.

Eventually Owain said, “If I were to leave Nohr, I don’t think I could ever return.”

Lissa imagined Leo nodding stiffy, looking just as regal as Emmeryn had with her crown, even if Leo probably wore his a little more uncomfortably. “I’m sure you have just as many duties to attend to there as we do here.”

“No,” Owain said. “No, I told you before, I don’t… I have no formal duties regarding the throne of my homeland.”

“Then _why_?” Leo asked, his cool mask suddenly breaking. Lissa pressed her hands against her mouth tighter, muffling another gasp. “If you have no duties to attend to, then what is it that draws you away from—”

“I didn’t mean to disappear for so long,” Owain cut in. He sounded _ragged_.

Owain said, “The journey between here and there is long and difficult, and I—I have family, Leo. They must think—My _mother_ must have thought—"

There was another moment of silence.

“It’s been a long time,” Owain croaked. “It’s been… a long time.”

_Five years_ , Lissa thought.

Owain been so grown when she’d first found him. And he’d only grown up faster while she had been gone.

“I never meant…” Owain trailed off. “I miss them, Leo. You must understand that.”

Sadly, Leo said, “I do.”

Goodness, Lissa wished she knew what they looked like, if they were reaching for each other, if—

“But,” Owain said. Lissa didn’t know why she thought Leo felt just as surprised as her when Owain continued, but she did. “If I were to leave Nohr and never see you again, I think I would feel much the same there as I do here.”

Lissa breathed out.

_Oh_ , she thought. He really had grown.

After a beat, Leo said, “Then the reason you are choosing to return home is because of your family.”

“That,” Owain agreed, “and because I was never meant to be here.”

“And yet here you are,” Leo said.

Lissa pictured a watery smile.

“And yet here I am.”

Silence.

Lissa waited, straining her ears, hoping for—

Well, she didn’t quite know what she was hoping for.

“If you leave,” Leo said slowly. “Then please. Just… remember what I asked of you.”

Voice thick, Owain said, “I would never forget.”

There was another pause. Then footsteps. Lissa scrambled around the corner just as the door opened. She pressed her back against the cool stone and tried to calm the pounding of her heart.

A door closed gently. The same soft footsteps grew louder as they approached Lissa’s hiding place.

She could have run, she knew.

She didn’t.

Owain had grown while they’d been apart, she thought again. Five years and different clothes and so much to catch up on, and…

And new people Owain apparently really cared about.

Which only made sense when she thought about it, though Lissa _hadn’t_ thought about it at all until now, actually. Until she’d stuck her nose right in the evidence of Owain’s caring. So much time had passed between then and now that it only made sense that Owain had found new people to care about.

Lissa wished she’d had more time. That she’d been there for more of Owain’s life. That she’d gotten to know Leo better already.

She wished all those things and more, but Lissa had been making wishes for years and only one had come true so far.

Granted, it had been the most important wish. So if Lissa had used up all of her miracles in this one wish coming true, she didn’t regret it being this one.

Still. Knowing Nohr and Leo and the other important things in her son’s life by this point would have been nice.

That said, she’d recognized the tone in Owain’s voice just now. She recognized the way Owain had been looking at Leo when he laughed too. Lissa knew all she really needed to know.

She closed her eyes and brushed her wedding ring with her thumb. She imagined what Henry might have said in her shoes.

Then she made a decision. Hopefully one her husband would agree with.

Lissa twisted back around the corner. Owain reared back in surprise as they barely avoided ramming into each other. She grabbed him by the arms.

“Mother!” Owain yelped. His cheeks were dusted an upsetting red. “What are you—Are you jumping out from behind corners to scare people?”

“No,” Lissa said. She hastily rubbed some of the wetness from her eyes. “Owain, listen.”

She sniffed. Owain straightened under her hands.

“Are you feeling alright?” he asked, and Lissa smiled tiredly up at him. Owain was strange and loud, and Lissa couldn’t have asked for a better son.

“Owain,” she said, mentally reaching out to Chrom for strength, to Emmeryn for serenity. “If you wanted to stay in Nohr, you have my blessing.”

_“What?”_ Owain said. “No, no, of course I’m going back. I miss you and Father and—”

Lissa squeezed his arms, and Owain quieted, looking at her with wide eyes.

“But you don’t _have_ to come home,” she said, even if it hurt her to say so. She wanted Owain to come home, yes. But there were things he probably wanted too, and she needed him to know it was okay to go after those things. “If you want to stay in Nohr—”

She caught herself. Better yet—

“If you had a special someone you wanted to stay in Nohr _for_ , then that’s okay. You know that’s okay, right?”

“I—” Owain’s face looked like it was caught between a hundred different emotions. He finally settled on something close to wariness. “Were you eavesdropping just now?”

“No,” Lissa lied.

Owain looked at her.

“Okay, maybe a little,” she admitted. Owain groaned, but she ignored the sound. “Oh, hush! I’m your mother. Let me spy on you out of love and concern at least once! This might be the last time, after all!”

She laughed even though it wasn’t funny. Owain went quiet.

Her face was wet, Lissa realized. She hastily wiped away the tears that had slid down her cheeks.

“Mother,” Owain said gently.

Lissa grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He was bigger than her, but not by much.

“Your father and I are so, _so_ proud of you,” she told him. “And we will love you no matter where you are or what you’re doing. We’re always thinking about you, and we miss you very much. But we will _never_ stop loving you just because we haven’t seen you in a while.”

Now Owain’s eyes watered dangerously. “Mom…”

She squeezed his hand again, forcing herself to memorize the warmth and shape of her son’s hand. Again, she not for the first time, that she had been there to watch him grow. She wished Henry was there to see him too.

“It’s okay to stay,” Lissa told him. “If you really want to come home, then that’s okay. Your father and I would love to have you. But don’t come because you feel obligated. Don’t come if you think you’ll regret it.”

“But…” Owain’s lip wobbled, and Lissa could feel hers doing the same. Her throat felt tight and her face hot. “I’ll miss you.”

_“I know,”_ she croaked. “I’ll miss you too. But that’s okay.”

She wished she could say everything she meant to, but she didn’t know how to put it all into words. She didn’t know how to say it. If she were a better princess, maybe she could have. A better speaker, a better diplomat, more mature, more like Chrom or Emmeryn or—

But she must have said something right because Owain smiled wetly and said, “Wow, you’ve really matured.”

She hit him in the arm. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing!” Owain squeaked, throwing up his palms. “Nothing! Sorry, I was just… thinking of when we met.”

Of when Owain had met _her_. This Lissa. This version of his mother.

She hoped she lived up to herself most of all.

Hands on her hips, Lissa huffed. “Yeah, well.” She let some of the put-off princess persona melt away and looked back at Owain fondly. “I guess we’ve both grown up a bit.”

“Yeah,” Owain said lowly. “I guess we have.”

They looked at each other. Mother and son, both of them in a world they weren’t supposed to be.

“ _So_?” Lissa said, suddenly impatient. Owain probably needed time to think, sure, but there was only so much of her natural personality Lissa could shove down before it welled back up to the surface. “Does that mean you’re staying then?”

To her surprise and secret joy, Owain still looked conflicted.

“I don’t know if—"

“Owain,” Lissa said. “Seriously. You have my blessing.”

She saw the corner of Owain’s cheek sink in slightly as he chewed on it. That was a habit she’d forgotten he had until just now. It had really been too long.

Oh, she was going to miss him _so_ much.

“I’m really going to miss you,” Owain said as though reading her mind, and with a splintered but proud heart, Lissa knew it was a done deal.

“I know,” she said. “And you get to write your father a letter telling him that too. It would mean more coming from you.”

It was a good thing nobody else had walked by in the last few minutes, Lissa thought, because they must have made quite a tearful sight.

“I will!” Owain swore. “With ink derived from the blackest wells, I, Odin Dark, will bare my heart and soul! I will write all night if need be!”

“Alright, well, maybe don’t take _too_ long,” Lissa amended. “You know I don’t like leaving your father alone for long periods of time.”

She was thinking of Henry’s _“It’s completely safe for_ you _”_ line just before he’d activated the circle. Fingering the crystal on her necklace, Lissa wondered how he was doing now.

Owain’s smile was crooked. “I know.”

“Maybe sign the letter with your real name too,” she added, thinking. “Even if you’re not Owain to anyone else here, you’ll always be Owain to us.”

Owain’s eyes shined. Then he breathed in sharply.

“I’m not leaving Nohr,” Owain said quietly, as though he were testing the words.

Lissa patted him on the back of the hand. “I know, sweetie.”

“I’m not leaving Nohr,” Owain said again. Then, louder: “I’m not leaving Nohr. Odin Dark lives on!”

What a ridiculous name. Lissa sighed fondly.

Owain threw his hands into the air. “I must tell Leo at once! Mother—”

He froze, arms dropping to his side with a worried frown.

Lissa waved him off. “Oh, don’t mind me.”

Owain looked between her and the door worriedly. “You won’t—”

“Oh, don’t be like that,” Lissa chided. “I won’t be listening in this time! I promise.”

No matter how much she wanted to, she wouldn’t. Owain deserved some privacy. He was her son, but he was also an adult.

Besides, she knew this was a promise she could keep because once Owain was gone, Lissa was going to go out in the fields to be alone for a while. And also to find a frog or two if she could. A little surprise for Owain for after she was gone.

Owain must have believed her because he relaxed marginally and smiled beamed back.

“Thank you,” he said sincerely. “Truly, I must have done something amazing in a past life for the heavens to have blessed me with a mother such as you.”

“Oh, sweetie,” Lissa sighed. “You’ve done plenty of amazing things in _this_ life.”

Owain looked like he was about to break into another speech or maybe a fresh round of tears, and Lissa wasn’t sure she had the heart—or the patience—to listen to it. So she shoved at his side, hoping Leo was ready for whatever spiel Lissa knew her son was already preparing in his head.

“Now go,” she said. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

Owain nodded and ran off without a glance back at her. Lissa wondered if this was how it was always meant to be.

She wouldn’t have chosen it any other way.

Owain threw open the door, and Lissa turned away.

 

 

 

Lissa did not see Owain or Leo again until Owain fetched her for dinner that evening, which might have equally been a result of Lissa wandering around outside for as long as she could get away with as well as Leo and Owain having a long conversation only they were privy to. Either way, Owain was all smiles when he found her later that evening, and Lissa found herself smiling in return.

Inigo and Severa made a surprise appearance during dinner as well. Lissa almost didn’t recognize them for a moment, but Cordelia’s name was halfway out of her mouth before she realized the young woman Lissa had spotted was sporting much sharper features than her mother ever had.

Once Lissa realized she was looking for faces rather than more obvious features like hair, she quickly realized the soldier hovering by Severa’s side was Inigo. They both lingered by the edges of the dining room, neither of them looking very determined about entering.

When they realized she had spotted them, Severa and Inigo nudged each other, looking as though they wanted to duck out. Lissa took the opportunity to innocuously place the little garden snake she’d tucked into her pocket earlier onto the table as a distraction.

Which, ew. Snakes were gross and very scary. But she was glad she’d swallowed her fear and picked up the baby snake just this once. Besides, Lissa was mostly sure the garden snake she’d picked up was harmless.

For good measure, Lissa also gently tossed the frog in her pocket onto the table. It landed safely in the salad bowl. While Leo and Owain yelped in surprise at the sudden appearance of a frog and snake on the dining table, Lissa quietly slid from the table and bounded over to the hallway where Inigo and Severa were hovering.

“Hey!” Lissa said as she ducked into the hallway. She looked around to make sure they were in the clear and lowered her voice. “I’m so glad to see you two! Owain said you were both out, so I wasn’t sure when I’d get to see you.”

Inigo wore a small smile. Even Severa seemed to melt a bit, relaxing as Lissa spoke.

“It’s good to see you too,” Inigo said. He sounded a bit more mellow than Lissa remembered.

Severa too. Lissa noticed the more mature note to her voice as Severa said, “Odin caught us returning home just an hour ago. We wrote these in quite the haste.”

She pulled a letter out of somewhere and held it up. Inigo did the same.

Lissa took the letters gently. She looked up again.

“Your parents are doing just fine,” she said, certain that they wanted to know. She watched Inigo and Severa both deflate with relief, the answer to an unasked question given. “They miss you both greatly, and they’re going to be so relieved to know you’re okay. But aside from worrying about you two, both of your parents have been doing perfectly well.”

Severa looked quite abashed even though guilt hadn’t been Lissa’s intent. Lissa frowned.

Inigo grabbed Lissa’s hands in his own and squeezed. “Would you give those letters to them? Please?”

“Of course!” Lissa assured him. Inigo dropped his hands, eyes shining. Lissa continued, “But if you wanted to return to Ylisse tonight, you’re always welcome to come with me.”

Severa and Inigo shared a hesitant look.

“We… talked about that a bit in our letters,” Inigo said slowly. “I don’t… We could go home now, if we wanted to. We have a way.”

Severa shifted her weight. Her arms were crossed, and she looked at the floor. “Yeah. It’s a pretty one-way ticket though.”

Inigo and Severa must have done a lot of growing up while they had been gone too, Lissa realized. She smiled gently at them. They wore their uncertainty on their sleeves.

“I can’t truly speak for your parents,” Lissa said. “But I told Owain that if he wanted to stay in Nohr for some reason, that it was okay and I understood. I told him that if he thought he would regret coming home more than he would regret staying here, then it was all right.”

Inigo opened his mouth to say something, then hesitated. He stood there for so long Severa had to elbow him to get him to close his mouth. Inigo scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

Lissa’s smile grew wider. They weren’t her kids, but she still cared about them. She held up the letters they had given her.

“I’ll make sure your parents get these,” she assured them. “And if there’s some way for your parents to visit you here, we’ll try to figure it out. But if not, then… Well, I can’t speak for them, but I think they’d want you to make the best choice for yourself, whatever that choice is. Right?”

Severa and Inigo shared another look, hesitantly considering her words.

After a beat, it was Severa, voice somewhat stilted, who said, “We... need some time. Probably longer than you’ll be here for. But thank you.”

“Come on,” Inigo said, gently grabbing Severa’s forearm. “We’ll leave you too it.”

Severa nodded and followed him out.

“Thanks again,” she said, sounding sad and conflicted.

Inigo flashed her another smile.

They both looked back at her before they disappeared around the corner. Lissa’s heart ached for them.

 

 

 

After a mild scolding from Owain about bringing animals to the dinner table as pranks, a few hard to read looks from Leo, and more than a little laughter from Lissa, dinner was completed. Minus the salad, of course.

From how long they had been apart that afternoon, Lissa almost expected Owain to take Leo off somewhere else so they could talk some more, presumably about Owain’s continued presence in Nohr.

But to Lissa’s delight, Leo and Owain requested she join them in the library after dinner. Lissa happily followed them there as soon as they were all finished eating. With just the three of them, the meal didn’t take very long, and though nothing very important was discussed due to the public setting and the servants flitting in and out of the room, Lissa felt a little closer to Leo than she had before they left the dining hall.

Which was good, considering Lissa also felt like her time in Nohr was quickly coming to a close and she wanted to make sure she knew who her future son-in-law was going to be before she left.

Not that there had been any talk of marriage thus far. Owain hadn’t even used the word “love” that afternoon after all of Lissa’s hints that he could tell her anything. But even so, Lissa could tell when a good thing was coming. Even if Owain and Leo were still working some things out amongst themselves, Lissa had a good feeling about where they would end up.

Nor had she been given a hard time limit on how long she could stay in Nohr. Leo had said she was welcome to stay as long as she liked, and Henry probably wouldn’t have minded stealing all the extra time with their son that she could.

But she hadn’t been joking when she said she didn’t like to leave Henry along for too long, especially after the comment he’d made. Owain, every minute she was gone away from Ylisse was another minute she had to fret that Henry had done something really harmful in order to send her there in the first place. Lissa was getting antsy.

But first things came first.

When they made it to the library, Owain said, “Mother, Lord Leo and I—”

“You don’t have to call me lord when we’re alone,” Leo reminded him. He smiled gaily at Owain. Lissa had noticed his change in mood over dinner, but it was especially apparent now.

Owain nodded, strengthened.

“Leo and I,” he began again. “We’ve been talking, and I will be staying in Nohr for the time being.”

“Aww,” Lissa cooed. She’d figured as much, but it was nice to know they had worked some more details out between each other as well.

“In addition to that,” Leo said, stepping forward. He gently cleared his throat. He didn’t look nervous, but Lissa smiled disarmingly at him anyway. “I know we don’t now each other very well yet, Lissa. However, I am very much enamored with your son, and if you would grant me the opportunity to get to know you better as well, I would gladly appreciate the chance.”

Lissa clasped her hands together and squealed. “Enamored! So you two really…”

She trailed off meaningfully. For some reason Lissa expected Leo to be the bashful type, to duck his head while his ears turned red, but he continued to look her in the eye.

“That—” Leo started, but Owain interrupted him by excitedly stepping into Lissa’s personal space and crying, “Yes! And it is all thanks to your intervention!”

Leo glanced at Owain fondly, then back to Lissa.

“Yes,” he said. “I know Odin was tempted to leave Nohr until you talked with him about it. Admittedly, I did not have the same relationship with my own mother that you and Odin seem to share. But if our situations were flipped, the decision to leave my siblings behind in order to live somewhere else is one I would be reluctant to make, so I can only imagine how you must be feeling. Especially with how long the journey is between here and your homeland.”

Leo took in a deep breath, pausing. “With that in mind, I know I made the offer earlier, but you really are welcome to stay here for as long as you wish. I encourage it, actually, since it would give me longer to win over your favor.”

He smiled disarmingly. Lissa wouldn’t have expected it from a guy who gave off the initial impression of being just as big of a nerd as Robin, but Leo was actually a little charming when he wanted to be.

She pressed her hand to her heard and sighed. That charm was going to come in handy in the future since Owain didn’t really have any of his own.

“That’s so sweet,” Lissa said earnestly. “’Win my favor.’ You’re already doing a great job of that, dear.”

_Dear_. She’d tacked that on to the end of her sentence without thinking. Lissa’s repressed mother instincts really were coming out full force today. And perhaps she’d spent a little too much time with Maribelle lately.

She didn’t think it was a bad slipup, though, considering Leo’s surprised but pleased expression. Owain’s face softened as he noticed Leo’s look. Their arms brushed.

“Thank you,” Leo said. “But still. I would appreciate the chance to get to know you more.”

Lissa felt a growing soreness behind her eyes. “Me too.”

She swallowed.

“But I don’t think I can stay as long as I’d like,” she admitted. “I mentioned this to O-Odin earlier, but I don’t like leaving my husband alone for long periods of time. And on top of that…” She smiled sheepishly. “I might have pulled an Odin.”

“A what?” Leo said. Owain looked at her curiously.

Lissa wondered if time moved the same between Nohr and Ylisse. If she had been gone for as many hours as it seemed like she had.

She said, “Well, I _may_ have left in the middle of the night. Without telling anybody except Odin’s dad.”

Leo closed his eyes and grimaced.

“Of course,” he said, faintly amused. “Again, how am I not surprised?”

“Hey!” Owain protested. “I never left in the middle of the night! And I told you I was leaving!”

“Yeah, but you didn’t say _where_ ,” Lissa countered.

“You just _left_?”

“ _Anyway_ ,” Lissa said. “I’ll probably leave pretty soon to let everyone know I’m fine and that Odin is too.”

Leo nodded. “Of course. I’m saddened to hear that, but I understand. We’ll supply you with anything you need for the journey as well. I assume you’re leaving in the morning?”

Lissa hummed in thought, tapping her chin with her finger.

“Hmm. Probably more like tonight?”

Owain didn’t look very surprised by that statement, but of course Lissa noticed how deflated he looked when she said it. Lissa felt just as sad. She also wanted to stay longer, but she really was worried about everyone else back home too. Henry especially.

Leo, however, looked very surprised.

“Tonight?” he echoed. “Are you certain? I was under the impression it was a long journey back home. Surely it would be better to wait until daylight.”

“It is a long journey,” Lissa agreed. She dug her necklace out of her dress and held it up. “But I’m not leaving the traditional way.”

Leo and Owain both peered at the crystal. They glanced at each other.

Before they could ask any questions, Lissa added, “I’m not really sure how it works. Odin’s father set it up for me. But it should be pretty instantaneous.”

Leo looked intrigued. “So could you return this same way to visit?”

Owain looked doubly curious.

Lissa bit her lip.

“Maybe,” she said. “I’m not very sure. This was… kind of sudden. I have to go back first before I’m sure I can ever return.”

Leo nodded, looking as though he wanted to ask a dozen questions. Thankfully, he held back. Lissa was doubly thankful because now that the truth was on the table, she only had eyes for her son.

“If I can return,” she said, looking right at Owain, “I will. And I’ll be sure to visit lots. But if I can’t, then…”

Then this would probably be the last time she and Owain saw each other. And Henry didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye himself. Lissa sniffed, scrubbing her face with the back of her sleeve.

Owain stepped forward, clearing his throat.

“I wrote this earlier,” he said, pulling a sealed letter out of his pocket and holding it out. “I didn’t even spend all night on it like you worried.”

He smiled, though it was melancholy thing. Lissa took the letter, hoping nobody noticed how her hands shook.

Leo looked between the two of them, expression drawn. He nodded.

“I’ll leave you to it then.” He stepped away, briefly laying a hand on Owain’s shoulder. “I’ll be right outside when you’re finished.”

Lips pressed together tightly, Owain nodded. Leo squeezed his shoulder and left.

When the door closed behind him, Owain and Lissa both tried to speak at the same time.

“Owain—”

“Mother—”

They stopped and looked at each other. Lissa giggled.

“Well,” she said after a beat. “What else is there to say?”

“Everything!” The word burst from Owain’s lips like a floodgate. “Mother, I have so much to tell you! About Valla, about the war, about—about what Leo means to me—”

Owain cut himself off with a choked sound. His face was red.

Lissa was on the verge of crying again. “Oh, honey.”

She clutched Owain’s letter between her fingers. It was everything she had wanted for so long. Something to remember her son by.

With the real deal standing in front of her, a letter paled in comparison. But Lissa would take it.

She held up the letter, sniffing again.

“Everything that matters is in here,” she said. “Even if you can’t tell us all of it, your feelings are what matter the most. Plus the fact that you’re safe and happy here.” She looked at him, squinting. “You _are_ happy here, right?”

_“Of course,”_ Owain said, though his insistence was contrasted with the wetness of his eyes. “Mother, being here in Nohr is nearly the happiest I’ve ever been.”

Lissa blinked. “Nearly?”

“Tied only with finding you,” Owain said.

That was the final nail in the coffin. Lissa couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Oh, you! Come here!”

She threw herself around Owain and squeezed him tight. Lissa was choking him, she knew, because of the way Owain tapped her back and gasped, _“Can’t breathe”_ in her ear. She just held him tighter.

When they pulled apart, Lissa was unsurprised to find that they were both crying. She took Owain’s face between her hands.

“Re-remember,” she said between wet hiccups. “Your father and I love you so much. _So_ much.”

Owain nodded jerkily. “I know. I love you too.”

“And always take care of yourself first,” Lissa reminded him. “And eat your vegetables. And take care of Leo too. I know you two will be happy together. And—"

_“Mother,”_ Owain said, sounding almost childish.

Lissa laughed wetly. She was crying, but she was laughing too.

“Okay, okay.” She let him go. “I know you know. I just want to be sure.”

“The same goes for you,” Owain said emphatically. “I can’t—Take care of yourself too, okay? For me.”

“Your father and I are always watching out for each other,” Lissa said. “Which is why I have to go back and watch over him now.”

Owain nodded again, shaking his head a little too fast. Lissa wanted to grab hold of him again, wanted to spend the whole night staying up and talking, but she stepped back instead. She took the necklace in her hands, a little unsure of what she was supposed to do.

Wanting to squeeze in one last joke, Lissa said, “If anyone gives you flack about not being Leo’s station, you tell them that you have your own castle waiting for them back home, okay?”

Startled, Owain laughed. It was a wonderful sound that lifted Lissa’s heart in joy.

“Alright,” he said, his shoulders shaking. His face was still red but his mouth was smiling. “I promise.”

Lissa didn’t know what else there was to say. She pressed the little crystal to the palm of her hand and reached for the magic inside her, trying to channel it without her staff.

The crystal thrummed. Lissa gasped at the sudden tug in her chest. She looked down, but nothing was there.

She looked up again. “Owain. Goodb—”

There was a familiar flash of white.

 

 

 

Lissa opened her eyes and saw the familiar library in Ylisstol. It seemed just as dark as it had when she’d first trailed in after Henry in the dead of night, but that might have had something to do with the curtains that were still drawn over the windows.

The candles that lay scattered around the room had burned down significantly. A bookshelf had been shoved in front of the door for some reason. It was just dim enough that Lissa had to blink twice before she registered the shadow slumped against the wall as her husband.

“Henry!” Lissa shouted, heart thumping and tears forgotten. She dashed out of the circle and over to her husband’s side, throwing herself into a crouch when she reached him. She slid an arm under his back and pulled Henry close to her chest.

_“Henry,”_ she said again when he was pulled against her. Henry’s head lolled back, and Lissa’s breath caught. She wished she had her staff, but she didn’t know how quickly she could shove the bookshelf out of the doorway and get help.

Then Henry groaned. He opened his eyes blearily, squinting up at her.

“Lissa?” he croaked.

She nearly burst into tears again.

Henry laughed weakly. “I guess sending you there and back took a little more out of me than I expected.” He turned his head, searching around the room for something. “Owain?”

Of course that was who he was looking for. Lissa shook her head sadly, her throat tight.

Henry’s face fell. He didn’t quite frown, but the disappearance of his signature smile looked completely wrong.

“Ah,” he said dully. “It didn’t work.”

Lissa leapt to assure him. “No, Henry, it worked! I found him! And he would have contacted us before now if he could have. It’s just…”

She dug around in her pocket for his letter, careful not to jostle her husband too much. She held it up.

“He wrote you a letter explaining it a bit more,” she said. “It’s a long story, I think. But it worked. Oh, Henry, it _worked_.”

“It worked?”

Henry blinked. The corners of his lips quirked upwards. There was sweat on his brow that Lissa carefully dabbed off with her sleeve. She had the feeling performing the spell had taken a lot out of him.

“It did,” Lissa assured him again. “I saw our son. Oh, Henry, he looked so happy.”

Henry breathed out through his nose, closing his eyes again. Faintly, he said, “Good. That’s good.”

“Henry?” Lissa said nervously. “Are you alright?”

He opened his eyes again, beaming up at her with some effort.

“Haha, don’t worry!” he said. “My insides feel a bit funny, but I’m okay. Just a bit tired!”

“Your insides?” Lissa yelped.

Henry laughed again. Lissa was glad she had returned when she had.

“Aw, don’t worry about me,” he said. “I’ll be fine after a nap. And I want to read Owain’s letter too.”

“In a minute,” Lissa told him gently. Henry wiggled, eager to read the letter, but Lissa distracted him with a kiss on the forehead. “How about I take you back to bed so you can rest, and we read the letter together there, okay? And you’ll let me check you over too.”

“Okay,” Henry agreed easily. “Sounds good.”

“Alright. Wait here for a moment.”

Lissa gently laid him back against the wall. She eyed the bookcase in front of the door.

Noticing her confused stare, Henry said, “Oh, I didn’t want anyone walking in and seeing that I had set up a magic circle in the library, so I blocked the door.”

Lissa goggled at him. “You thought completely barricading the library was going to make it _less_ suspicious?”

Henry shrugged, wincing at the movement.

“Well, only two people have knocked so far,” he said. “So I think it worked out pretty well.”

Lissa stared at him. Then she giggled.

She still wanted to get Henry back to bed and check him over, but she had the feeling he was going to be just fine.

Owain’s letter was burning a hole in one pocket while Inigo and Severa’s letters felt like lead weights in the other. She couldn’t wait to give them to everyone.

After Lissa got the bookcase out of the way—with some effort, mind you—she returned to Henry and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, helping him to his feet. He leaned most of her weight on her. Lissa didn’t have much in the way of strength, but Henry wasn’t very large. They began their stumbled walk to the door.

Halfway there, Lissa was struck with such an overwhelming wave of affection that she couldn’t help but turn her head and kiss Henry tenderly on the cheek.

“Thank you,” she whispered, blinking away the last of her tears.

Henry’s smile grew.

“What was that for?” Henry asked, sounding not at all displeased.

“For being the best husband and father anyone could ask for,” she said, meaning every word.

Henry laughed again. He sounded just like his son.

**Author's Note:**

> There are a couple easter eggs in her that are references to Lissa's Awakening supports that you might spot throughout this fic. Anything you think I'm making up for fun (such as Lissa's brief stint as a scout) is probably actually a reference to a support.
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment below or hit me up on my [tumblr!](http://someobscurereference.tumblr.com/) I get a lot of FE14 meta and fic related asks there, so feel free to browse through my "asks" or "fe14" tag for some extra stuff from me and your fellow readers you may not see over here. Or send in a question of your own if you had one! Thanks for reading!


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